You guys really crushed the sires so, as promised, this is Bonus Point Week! See post http://derbyfever.com/hr/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11368 for more information

 

The multiplier for points earned (after travel penalties, etc) will be 2.5... and the 3 man bonus credits added to the 3 man pool for the week will be 22222!

 

Those numebrs are a bit higher than the real calculations, but I wanted to make sure you guys were well rewarded for all of your hard work with adding sires this year.

Thanks again!

 

--Mike

 

I have added the 2012 special races.  I fixed some of the dates, but expect some to be incorrect.  If you see any "really big" races (world renowned races, derby lock preps) that need fixing, please let me know.   As in the past, I am not going to try to "true up" the entire sim schedule with the real world schedule; it's just too time consuming.  But I do want to make sure the "really big ones" line up.

 

Also, I fixed a few more sires and added a few more.  I have one final sweep I want to add next week (I know I keep saying that, but I ran out of time this week focusing on the race additions) so, if you see any, please let me know.

 

Thanks again!

 

--Mike

 

 

 

I will be doing one more big sweep next week.  During this sweep I will add anything notable I am missing and, more notably, do some tweaking of ratings.  If you see sires still missing, let me know.  I'm sure there are some (especially if they weren't updated in / added to Wikipedigree.org).  Moreover, the sweep may have undone a few of the fixes I did this week that people sent me by hand.  Feel free to send me anything that appears it didn't make it in again.   It's not that I am not committed to fixing sires that people have sent me to fix; it's simply that the amount of data is a bit overwhelming and the current methodolgy (that will be fixed when the new game gets finished) is a bit more "manual" (in other words.. prone to me screwing it up) than I prefer. :)

 

Thanks!

 

--Mike

 

Some of the smaller regions (Cze, Saf, Turkey.. likely Sweden and several more..) may not have gotten updated entirely (or actually some of them rolled back to times last year). 

 

I apologize for the problem.   I still plan on overlaying the Wikipedigree data for these before the next update, but they didn't get overlayed correctly this week.   I didn't notice it because of the size of those sire lists compared to the overall list. That was my error.

 

If you see any problems, still let me know.   Also, andy updates for sires I should know about are appreciated. Getting accurate data is tricky for me (especially since I'm not multilingual)... You guys that  speak English as a second language have always amazed me... :)

 

Thank you guys again so much for your hard work, and I will make as many corrections as possible.

 

--Mike

 

 

 

The rollover to 2012 is finished.    All horses should be aged and the new year ready to kick off!  One thing... stuff has gone way too smoothly this year, so I know I had to goof something up.. I just haven't found it yet... :)

 

If you see anything weird once the update light goes off, just drop me a note and I'll take care of it ASAP.  Also let me know if you see any sires that I forgot to remover (or added that are still racing).  It happens at least once a year...

 

Thanks for your patience, and I look forward to a really special year in the game!

 

--Mike

 

So I'm going to leave the 2011 breeding open until at least 12:30 PM EST.. maybe a bit longer.  At some time later than that, I'll flip the update light on and it will stay on until the game is rolled over.  I feel like I'm much better prepared this year (the help you guys offered with Wikipedigree.org cannot be understated...) . 

Again, I'm not 100% done with the 2012 "reratings"; the good news is that the breedings for next week won't be processed until Sunday, so I have 7+ days to tweak the stats.  If you have a partciular sire you think needs some love, let me know!

 

And to my Australian players : I did a lot of my "raising the Australian stock" up last year.   The top ones all received a bump again, but primarily because I bumped most to 100 existing sires to accomodate for the loss of some big-wigs over the last few years.   The bump they received was in line with other top sires, and simply wasn't as notable as the other horses mentioned. 

 

For full disclosure : I didn't bump Encasta de Lago at all (nor did I bump any of the other "super elite").. he's been one of the top shelf sires in the game for several years; I don't want his offspring coming out with capes on... :P

 

Thanks again!

 

--Mike

 

I always like to tell you guys some of my favorite sires I am adding as well as any major upgrades/downgrades to sires.  So here we go!

 

The new sire crop is, overall, a bit less impressive than in the past.    Still, there are a few sires I do like, and think can break through as very good sires in time (remember, I can't rate any new sire at "elite" until their real life progeny merits it, but all of these guys should be pretty good.. :)).  I've included 12 13 of them (in alphabetical order) :

 

CANFORD CLIFFS (IRE)
CAPE BLANCO
DREAM AHEAD
DROSSELMEYER

GIO PONTI (forgot to include him originally since he is techinically already in the game by mistake.. just deactivated.. he's being reactivated this year)
MONACO CONSUL (NZ)
POET'S VOICE (GB)
POUR MOI (IRE)
STAR WITNESS (AUS)
TIZWAY
UNCLE MO
VICTOIRE PISA (JPN)
WORKFORCE (GB)

 

(Also - if you see any I may have not included you think are going to be a cut above, drop me a note)

 

As for upgrades / downgrades :

 

I didn't do many downgrades this year... I think I smoked most of those out last year.  I have, however, bumped up some sires notably.  I consistently try to keep the upper-level sires at a constant aggregate level, so the loss of some major sires over the last couple of years have helped improve all elite sires. 

 

Big Bumps - All sires here should be considered elite / borderline elite.. all top 50 standing in the game unless noted otherwise:

 

Bernardidi - No suprise here.. he's always been good in the game, but he's even better than advertised.  He's now world-class.

 

Tapit - Again.. no surprise in this bump.. guy is producing like he should have run on the track.. is truly elite.

 

Montjeu - Has one of the best in the game for a while now.. is even better now.  Can't go wrong here...

 

Dansili, Dubawi, Oasis Dream - Always quite good.. now considered elite.

 

Malibu Moon, Dalakhani, Shamardal, Commands, Falbrav, Daiwa Major, Symboli Kris S, King Kamehameha - All made a nice move up the charts this year

 

Mineshaft - up.. down.. I had him rated too high in the game out the chute and he fell on his face.  I dropped him in the game and then his progeny explode.   So he got a notable bump back up.

 

More than Ready - Made his name in Australia but is really breaking out everywhere now.  Plus, the sire of one of my favorite horses in the game (Benny Being Benny)

 

Kitten's Joy - This one shocked me that he's this good as a sire.. not a big fan of his on track performance, but his offspring are really crushing it.  So I'm eating the crow here...

 

Speightstown - keeps throwing top class sprinters.. kept waiting for those season to be flukey but they've proven otherwise.. can't ignore him any longer...

Acclamation -- no not that one.. yea.. THAT one... really done well lately...

 

Candy Ride - Just keeps getting better and better.

 

War Front - probably not a top-50 sire yet, but will be soon at this rate.. he got a nice bump

 

Another note...

 

I have improved most "mid-level" sires a bit (top 200 or so active), so they should produce more consistently.  

 

Saturday rollover -

 

I am going to get things going early and, if things are going well, I'll try to keep the game open for a while after the stables get updated for "last minute breedings."  The upgrades i mentioned above will be in for said breedings, so use that information wisely.. :)  If thigns go as planned, I should finish the first update around 10:30-11:00 AM EST.  I will keep the game open for breeding at least one hour... maybe longer. 

 

So that's it for now.. happy holidays!

 

--Mike

 

 

 

 

 

To help accomodate the rollover, I will be making some changes to the typical schedule this weekend.

 

Saturday : I will be uploading the race results ~ 8:30 AM EST.    All claims / auction bids will need to be in by this time.  I will then proceed with the typical Saturday update.

 

Later that day (I'm not sure what time, though it could be as early as 12:00 PM, it just depends on how far I am along with things), I will be turning on the "roll-over to the new year" update light.   Breeding, which normally takes place on Sunday, will take place almost immediately after this light gets flipped on.   From there, I will retire all 12 year old that are still active.  If you want to breed your 12 year old, you need to do it before this time.   Once this step is completed, I will update horse ages and add new sires.  Finally, I will breed an assortment of 2 year olds (to accomodate 2 year old races that become available later in the season).

 

Remember, any horse you breed this week will show up a year older than you are breeding it, since the game will roll over to the new yearbefore you ever see the horse in your stable.

 

If all of this goes smoothly, I may even have the update finished on Saturday night.  I wouldn't. however, count on it (it is New Year's Eve... :)).  Most likely, I will need Sunday to finish off the rollover.  I will do everything possible to assure I can get the update done on Sunday.

 

Thanks guys!

 

--Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First off - Happy Holidays!

 

Secondly - I am still working on blending the new sires in with the existing ones.  Since I wasn't able to get the new version of the gam up before the end of the year, it's taking a bit longer than I had hoped.  Still, it's moving quicker than before.  :)  I will likely have to to several updates after the begining of the year to get them all in accurately.

 

Finally - I am going to add Local Race bidding and purchasing.   I will not turn this on publicly for at least a couple of weeks (I need to test them to make sure they all work..). I tried to wait until the new game was up and running, but the demand was too great.  Plus I figured I owed you guys something for being patient and allowing me to go back to work before I finished the rewrite without screaming murder too often. :P  

 

This is a powerful feature and, as such I have to be careful about how I incorporate it.  It's no secret that I am a big fan of local bred racing, but I also have to weigh the fact that each race added will restrict open races.   As such, I reserve the right to change the ability, price structure, or point values at any time until they are comfortably incorporated.

 

As such, there are a few notes about local bid/buy races (as it stands at this moment) :

 

* The minimum bid price is 150 credits - I realize this is much higher than a typical minimum bid, but the restrictive nature of such bid races makes this a necessary step

* Buying instead of bidding adds and additional 200 credits to the cost of purchasing a race

* (T) and * races cannot be bid or purchased

* Open Stakes races CAN be purchased, but graded stakes CANNOT

* When determining stakes points, Localbred stakes races receive half of the credit as an open stakes race

 

I am committed to this idea but, again, I realize changes may be necessary to make the transition a smooth one.  Feel free to contact me with questions and concerns.

 

Thanks guys!

 

--Mike

 

 

 

 

 

You came through big for the game. :)  I pedigrees for all of the new sires... awesome!

 

I'm going to be working on blending them into the current sirelist for the next few days.  I'll then try to pick off the sires players have been adding that weren't on my list.  Finally, I'll go through and rate them.   My goal is to have the list done By Christmas, and the rating to take place over the following week before the new year and rollover.

 

 

So if you know any pricing updates, location updates, etc. go ahead and fix them so I can get them in. 

Thanks again!

 

--Mike